Ben Shelton is currently competing in the North American hard-court swing at the 2026 Dallas Open. His girlfriend, professional soccer player Trinity Rodman, recently took on an unusual “challenge”: to get Shelton’s father and coach, Bryan Shelton, to do a celebratory dance.
Girlfriend Trinity Rodman Jokes About Getting Ben Shelton’s Dad Bryan to Finally Dance
Shelton and Rodman have been dating for nearly a year, making their relationship public in March 2025. Rodman plays as a forward for the U.S. national team and the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
Shelton is the second seed at the 2026 Dallas Open, and he began his campaign by defeating Gabriel Diallo with a score of 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. He then triumphed over Adrian Mannarino in the second round with a score of 7-6(2), 6-7(4), 6-3, advancing to the quarterfinals.
After his win against Mannarino, during the post-match on-court interview, the former World No. 5 was asked if he would do a celebratory dance with his father and coach, Bryan, similar to what Rodman did with U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes after scoring a goal against Chile.
In response, Shelton said that while Bryan would do many things if he asked, a celebratory dance is not one of them.
“I think there’s a better chance of a lot of things in life. I think that’s one thing [making Bryan do a celebratory dance] that will never happen. So that’s not something I would even ask,” Shelton said.
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Reacting to Shelton’s comments about Bryan not being willing to dance, Rodman stated that she has taken on the “challenge” of making Bryan dance.
“get Ben’s dad to do a dance. Challenge accepted @benshelton,” Rodman captioned her Instagram story.
Shelton turned professional in 2022, and in 2023, his father, Bryan, joined him as his full-time coach. Bryan had been the head coach of the University of Florida (Florida Gators) for over a decade before retiring from collegiate coaching to work with his son.
In addition to his singles campaign at the 2026 Dallas Open, Shelton also competed in the doubles event alongside compatriot Aleksandar Kovacevic. In the first round, they eliminated the wildcard pair of Grigor Dimitrov and Georgi Georgiev. Their campaign ended in the quarterfinals when they lost to the third-seeded duo of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul.
Who Will Ben Shelton Face at the 2026 Dallas Open QF?
Following his win over Mannarino in the second round of the 2026 Dallas Open. Shelton is set to face Miomir Kecmanović in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Kecmanović began his campaign at the ATP 500 hard court tournament by defeating qualifier Sho Shimabukuro with a score of 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(3) in the first round. He then secured his quarterfinal spot by eliminating fifth seed Tommy Paul with a score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
Shelton and Kecmanović have never faced each other on the ATP Tour, and their upcoming matchup at the Dallas Open will mark the first time they compete against one another. The winner of this match will advance to face either defending champion and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov or third seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semifinals of the tournament.
